Pelosi Says Democrats Aren’t in Agreement on Cures Act

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says House Democrats don’t unanimously back the 21st Century Cures package, which advocates hope will come up for a vote in both chambers of Congress during the upcoming lame-duck session.

“I support ranking member Pallone and Congresswoman Diana Degette (D-Colo.) who have worked very hard on this and so we stand ready to help pass it in the lame duck,” Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. “That’s not a universal view in our caucus, some people don’t have the same support for him so we’re just going to have to build consensus.”

“But if leadership takes it up I think it will pass,” she added.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have both named the effort a priority for when Congress returns to D.C. after the election. The measure aims to speed the development of medical treatments and cures.

The House passed the measure by a vote of 344-77 last year, with just seven Democrats voting against the bill. On the Senate side, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved more than a dozen medical innovation bills this year, but negotiations around new funding to go along with the measures have stalled progress.